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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
09-22-2015, 05:30 PM
After pondering big life questions such as whether to ever get married again and/or have kids, I decided that these big questions are too much for right now. So I'll just focus on the next five years, and then decide where to go from there after five years. I'm going to reserve my marriage/kids decisions until the five years are up.
My five years starts the day I become location independent. My cut-off date is May-June 2016, when I expect to leave my current job and run my portable business full time. I'm also going to be flexible on the five years. It could be only four years before I'm ready for the next step, or maybe seven. I'll keep it flexible.
So the plan is, once the handcuffs come off:
* Set up a base to live in a country for at least the first year. This place will have hot women, low cost of living, fast internet connection, some English speakers, and a good expat community where I can connect with others. This would be where I bootstrap my business, at least for the first year.
* Once every 3 months, take a 1-month vacation out of the base country to its neighboring countries. This quarterly vacation will partly be for relaxation, fun, getting bangs, and partly for scouting missions on potential places to live in the future.
* After the first year, move to another base country and live there for another year. Continue taking quarterly vacations while I can.
* Lather, rinse, and repeat for another few years. By 4-6 years, I should have a pretty good idea on which country fits me the best, whose women I like the best for LTRs and possible marriage, and where I can continue to do business.
* Then, I'll move to that country, and live and work there. Totally immerse myself into that culture. By then, I will be 40-45 years old... old enough to have plenty of valuable experience, and still young enough to find a woman to start a family with.
When I start this plan, I'm thinking Thailand would be the perfect base for the first year. From there, I can take vacations to the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, etc... all within a reasonably short flight away. Whichever country I like best for business opportunities, expat communities, and women suitable for LTRs, I'll move there and set up another base.
I'm also thinking Mexico, Colombia, and other places in Latin/South America, but I'm shying away from those places as semi-permanent places. Safety is a concern. I won't count them out as vacation spots, however.
Sound like a reasonable plan? I feel this would help me break my life down into bite size pieces instead of trying to figure out everything in one swoop.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
09-22-2015, 10:38 PM
5 years is a very long time to plan for. I find that it's hard for me to plan more than about 5-6 months in advance. Even 3 months is a lot. Things can change VERY fast. Take it 1 day at a time.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
09-23-2015, 08:00 AM
Ideally, I would take it one day at a time, but I'm not very good at that. I'd probably end up as an aimless wreck filled with angst.
I understand that even the best laid plans go out the window because life happens. I get that, but just having a plan puts me on a path forward where I focus my efforts on getting myself through the crossroads I'm at. It's calming and gets me more focused on my location independence efforts NOW, instead of worrying too much about the future.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
09-23-2015, 04:23 PM
I once heard 18 months is a good number, because in that period things often change. I've found that to be very true.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
09-24-2015, 05:18 AM
I think the plan is sound, however I would advice using milestones.
Example - first milestone is to decide which countries are optional. Second would be to arrange the move, third would be to start the business and so on.
Also, do not get hung up on dates. It may take more than one year for the business to succeed. So these are more guidelines than an actual plan.
Good luck
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
09-24-2015, 05:15 PM
I recently completed a five year plan - running from January 2010 to January 2015. Completion of a date-specific plan is possible, but involves considerable control of your environment. I'd argue this is a valuable skill in itself.
Did I achieve everything I set out to achieve? No. But it certainly got me to a better position than I was in previously. And the attempt opened my eyes to a number of truisms I had been previously (and possibly blissfully) been unaware of. Aim for the moon and land amongst the stars sort of thing.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-21-2015, 12:49 PM
CleanSlate, how did the beginning of your five year plan work out for you? Currently on one myself although it's in the accumulation phase.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-22-2015, 12:52 AM
Before making the decision of where to settle down for a year, I would suggest doing a world tour for three months. You've got a basic list of places you're considering already, so it's not like you'll be travelling with no direction. Such a tour will really help you narrow it down. Hit a few different countries, a number of different cities and see where you end up.
I'm the King of Beijing!
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-22-2015, 02:43 AM
Definitely a good idea to explore. I second Suit's suggestion of a 2-3 month tour at first, getting a feel for several places. I'd say 10-15 days in a place is enough to know whether a place is a good fit for you to live.
My 10-day assessments have basically panned out pretty much accurate for the places I've gone on to live in. You can get enough of a feel of generally how you'll fit in, how the people are, and how you'll like it.
Conversely, the two places I jumped into for stretches of time without doing scouting missions first, ended up being disappointing and frustrating - despite how much I wanted to like them, how much other people raved about them, or how good they looked on paper.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-26-2015, 06:26 AM
^^ Other than the language gap, I find Thailand to be a much more livable place than the Philippines. Safer, cleaner, much better food, nicer accommodation for the same price. A lot of taxis and shopkeepers speak basic English. But then again, the language factor might be a bigger issue for you.
PM me for accommodation options in Bangkok.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-26-2015, 02:13 PM
I think the best thing you can do is do a few short term visits, do some research, and pick a country/region to make your stock-and-trade.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-28-2015, 04:01 PM
Quote: (09-22-2015 05:30 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:
After pondering big life questions such as whether to ever get married again and/or have kids, I decided that these big questions are too much for right now. So I'll just focus on the next five years, and then decide where to go from there after five years. I'm going to reserve my marriage/kids decisions until the five years are up.
My five years starts the day I become location independent. My cut-off date is May-June 2016, when I expect to leave my current job and run my portable business full time. I'm also going to be flexible on the five years. It could be only four years before I'm ready for the next step, or maybe seven. I'll keep it flexible.
So the plan is, once the handcuffs come off:
* Set up a base to live in a country for at least the first year. This place will have hot women, low cost of living, fast internet connection, some English speakers, and a good expat community where I can connect with others. This would be where I bootstrap my business, at least for the first year.
* Once every 3 months, take a 1-month vacation out of the base country to its neighboring countries. This quarterly vacation will partly be for relaxation, fun, getting bangs, and partly for scouting missions on potential places to live in the future.
* After the first year, move to another base country and live there for another year. Continue taking quarterly vacations while I can.
* Lather, rinse, and repeat for another few years. By 4-6 years, I should have a pretty good idea on which country fits me the best, whose women I like the best for LTRs and possible marriage, and where I can continue to do business.
* Then, I'll move to that country, and live and work there. Totally immerse myself into that culture. By then, I will be 40-45 years old... old enough to have plenty of valuable experience, and still young enough to find a woman to start a family with.
When I start this plan, I'm thinking Thailand would be the perfect base for the first year. From there, I can take vacations to the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, etc... all within a reasonably short flight away. Whichever country I like best for business opportunities, expat communities, and women suitable for LTRs, I'll move there and set up another base.
I'm also thinking Mexico, Colombia, and other places in Latin/South America, but I'm shying away from those places as semi-permanent places. Safety is a concern. I won't count them out as vacation spots, however.
Sound like a reasonable plan? I feel this would help me break my life down into bite size pieces instead of trying to figure out everything in one swoop.
I like your 5 year thinking and cut off date.
I became self employed 8 and a half years ago but putting a 6 month cut off date by which I would quit my job. I quit on that day and have not looked back.
There is a huge difference between SE Asia and Latin America of course but you just have to pick one and do it. You will never be the same.
Don't listen to the naysayers who just give you different caution tales about short vacations. It sounds like you want to go all in. There are always flights home or elsewhere if you hate it. I moved to Japan in my late 20s having never been to Asia or Japan. I stayed 2.5 years and went on to another phase. You don't have to go see what it's like to see what it's like. You acheive that the moment you step out having moved there. The new sights, smells, customs, and endless layers you will discover in the new place are richer when you just GO, free as you are hoping to be, and not with the uncommitted caution of checking it first.
Whether you choose Thailand or Ecuador, Vietnam or Costa Rica, these are functioning and very livable places with life and vibrancy that is moving along 24 hours a day without you.
You have hit a chord with those who are envious of your plan, and secretly hope you will fail because they themselves cannot make themselves do what you are so close to doing.
Reach that tipping point where your business pays you enough to be free, get a light weight laptop, sell your crap, and go for it.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-28-2015, 06:01 PM
I don't think there are that many guys wanting CleanSlate to fail. I think most guys are rooting for him and are just trying to pass along some genuine thoughts. CS will do what is best for him. I just don't think anyone here wants him to fail. I think we all want him to succeed.
Fate whispers to the warrior, "You cannot withstand the storm." And the warrior whispers back, "I am the storm."
Women and children can be careless, but not men - Don Corleone
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-28-2015, 09:08 PM
Quote: (11-28-2015 06:01 PM)samsamsam Wrote:
I don't think there are that many guys wanting CleanSlate to fail. I think most guys are rooting for him and are just trying to pass along some genuine thoughts. CS will do what is best for him. I just don't think anyone here wants him to fail. I think we all want him to succeed.
You are right its not many here.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-29-2015, 02:23 AM
After thinking about it for awhile, more and more I want to stay in America. Just because some freaks have taken over, doesn't mean that I don't love my country. I'll fight for America, and I'll die for it if comes to that.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-29-2015, 02:28 AM
It's a good five year plan, not the specific details of it, but that it's a bit broad. I think it's best to leave yourself a healthy bit of wiggle room to adjust and adapt but still have a general guideline of what you're looking for.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-29-2015, 10:31 AM
im coming to your garage sale the deals will be good!
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-29-2015, 12:44 PM
It does feel liberating selling your stuff. I've done it twice in my life, but both times I regretted it later. The stuff I sold was valuable to me and hard to replace.
As much as I want to live overseas and be location independent, I know I will need and want to come back to the US for a month or three. My strategy will be to have an inexpensive home/apartment with my stuff it in it here in the US so I have a place to come back to in-between adventures.
A cheaper option would be to pay $150/month to put it all in storage, but then you have no place to live.
When I left for the Phils last year I had no return date, but after 2 months I wanted to return. Coming back to the US without a place to live and staying with my parents for a month until I found a new job really sucked.
Next year I'll be leaving the US again, and while I'd like to think it will be for good I know I will probably want to come back and spend time in the States. Not too much time.
Everyone's different though. Just something to keep in mind.
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-30-2015, 07:15 AM
I'm kind of hoping to avoid renting storage space or an inexpensive apartment. Maybe buying a condo, renting it out, and hiring a manager to take care of it would be in the cards, but I don't have the kind of money to come up with a down payment yet... and I'm not prepared to deal with handling real estate half a world away. So I will sell everything (or at least put a few things in my sister's house).
Onto, what made you want to come back to the US after a few months in the Phils? Was it something about expat life that you were not quite prepared for?
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Location Independence Journey: My Five Year Plan
11-30-2015, 08:13 AM
The above is definitely understandable.
I've been in EE since July, but I've made it work for a few reasons:
1) In my last job, I travelled a lot solo, both in and out of the US.
2) At most, I only daygame every other day. I do my other hobbies and interests on "off days."
3) I may have found an LTR girl just before poosy (and thus I) went into hibernation here. Fifth date was Friday. Not gonna lie, it was a matter of luck, many approaches, and many dates to nowhere to find her. We'll see if she pans out.
4) My spending is coming in under budget.
5) I grew up near the Great Lakes and lived in Minneapolis for a few years, so EE weather and winter darkness by 4p isn't a shock.
@Onto - if I do end up in the Phils I may have to get a bass again. Then with you on the guitar maybe we can record that "I Wanna Fuck Your Face" Beatles "cover" mentioned on another thread